The Long Game?
by gleekyoutsider5
Summary: A few months have passed since Josh and Maya agreed to "the long game". Now that they've both had time to think, waiting it out doesn't seem as appealing as it did at the ski lodge. Join Maya and Josh as they face all of the troubles of a new relationship, an age gap, and the disapproval of their friends and family. Joshaya. One-sided Lucaya/Joshaya love triangle later on.
1. Girl Meets Flirtation

**Chapter One- Girl Meets Flirtation**

It had been two months since the ski lodge. What does all that mean? I've had two months to sit in silence while I obsess over the possibility of a future with Josh. My feelings for him sure felt a lot like a crush when I put it like that. Of course, when he and I were together it felt far from a dumb middle school obsession. Alone, things were different. None of that mattered, though. Finally knowing how Josh felt about me changed things. He had confessed after all this time and all I felt was frustration. If we both liked each other, why couldn't we be together?

Three years. That's what stood between the two of us now. Not one sided love, not false hope...only three little years. Three years meant nothing to me, but it meant everything to him.

Putting those three years aside, he and I had agreed we wouldn't talk for a while after the ski lodge. We wanted to confirm our feelings were real and not a spur of the moment romantic confession. Taking a few months to think represented yet another barrier Josh used to prevent himself from falling down a hole with someone a few years younger than him. I didn't mind because I had faith that what he felt for me was real and wouldn't change. Despite all that, it still didn't feel great to not talk to him for eight long weeks.

That's why seeing him step through the Matthews' front door felt extra exciting that Friday afternoon after school. Lucas was on his way to retrieve Riley and I for a movie, but I dreaded the event. Ever since the ski lodge, things had changed between the three of us. I could tell Lucas didn't want anything to change and Riley likely didn't either, but things still did. I third-wheeled on all their little "dates" and they ignored how uncomfortable I appeared. Seeing Josh stumble through the door gave me hope for an alternative plan.

"Hey, I could get used to stopping over here whenever I want," Josh grinned. He sat down on the Matthews' couch, reaching for the TV remote.

Riley and I sat at the kitchen table, observing as Josh made himself at home. Riley still seemed uncomfortable with the idea of me hypothetically dating her uncle. However, we had come to an understanding that she needed to respect how we felt about each other. To display that approval, Riley wiggled her eyebrows at me. She then whispered, "Now's your chance to put a start to the long game."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think that's how the long game works, Riles."

Before either of us had a chance to actually greet Josh, Lucas stepped through the wide open front door. "Ready for movie night?" He grinned and made direct eye contact with Riley. He greeted Josh with a slight nod.

I looked to Riley to see if there was a chance of getting out of movie night. "Mind if I skip it tonight?" Being my best friend, Riley could tell my sudden change in motivation had nothing to do with their choice of movie or even with the two of them. Rather she knew it had to be the abrupt arrival of her gorgeous uncle.

Riley raised an eyebrow and Lucas looked between Josh and I. Before I could justify myself further, Lucas chimed in. "You'll miss a great movie. But go ahead." He smiled and took Riley's hand. "Have a good night, Maya."

It amazed me how sweet Lucas still behaved after everything that happened between the three of us. Riley never got jealous or lashed out at either of us for remaining best friends. I was beyond grateful for her understanding because I didn't know what I would do without Lucas by my side.

The moment Riley and Lucas exited the Matthews' apartment, I made myself comfortable on the couch next to Josh. Without saying a word, we moved close together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "So this is what the long game feels like, huh?" Josh asked, finally breaking the silence. Something in his voice made it known that he hadn't enjoyed those eight weeks without talking either.

I shrugged, contemplating the long game and its relation to the two months of silence. It felt like the millionth time I'd processed that same line of thinking. "I don't think the long game means we stop being friends."

He laughed, which threw me in shock. How could he think my comment was funny? Did he not want me as a friend? "Of course we'll still be friends. I told you I needed you as a friend at the ski lodge, remember?" I did remember. That moment felt like the greatest thing in the world at the time. Then I realized the things he said were a more polite version of friend-zoning.

"So then why haven't we talked in two months?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

He shook his head and finally broke our eye contact. "I wanted to make sure what I felt at the ski lodge was real. We all went through a rollercoaster of emotions that weekend. I needed to know that agreeing to the long game didn't happen because of that."

Of course we had talked about this at the ski lodge after he went back to school at the end of the trip. But hearing it again provided somewhat of a relief. "And?"

His lips twisted into a sweet smile. It took everything in me to avoid breaking down and throwing it all away to kiss him. Silence filled the room for what felt like an eternity before his lips broke apart once again. "Nothing's changed, Maya." I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn't notice I'd been holding in. That weekend at the ski lodge, I had no doubt he meant every word he said. Yet something still told me not to get too excited about the hypothetical long game. The amount of unfulfilled promises in my life were infinite, and this felt like another one. "If anything, not talking for two months made me want to talk to you more. And I'm still in."

My lips mirrored his adorable smile and I reached for his hand, hoping that he might let me hold it without lecturing me about how we needed to wait a few years. To my shock, he didn't even flinch at the feel of my hand clasping with his. "So am I." I started to think of all the things I could say next and my mind could only seem to conjure up hopes that the long game might become a little shorter. "If only the long game didn't last so long."

Our hands stayed clasped between our bodies and his eyes broke our gaze to stare at them. Despite the irregularity of our relationship, everything felt completely natural between us. His eyes finally drifted back to mine. "Now that would kind of ruin the term 'long game', wouldn't it?"

I rolled my eyes, wishing he would agree with me. I used my free hand to lightly shove him. "You know what I mean."

He let out a short laugh before lifting our hands so that they sat folded together on his lap. His free hand lifted to cover the tops of our intertwined fingers and my cheeks burned a bright red. I swore I could be eternally content if they could stay that way forever. Josh must have sensed my happiness because he finally agreed with my statement. "I know."

My eyes shifted their gaze to stare into his and I felt his head a little closer than it had been only seconds before. "You know as in you can tell I don't really like waiting...or you know as in you don't like waiting either?" I knew I had asked a lot of questions already but I needed to know the truth.

His nose suddenly sat only inches away from mine and I had no idea how we got there. It could have been me that made the first move closer to him, but somehow it also could have been him. Even better, it could have been both of us. "Three years is a lot," he hummed quietly. He no longer needed a regular volumed voice for me to hear each word.

I shook my head, annoyed at the familiar statement. "So I've heard." At that point it seemed like he was filling the silence to avoid doing something he might regret. His temptation started to get the better of him and his head made a more obvious jump than it had in the previous few moments. He quickly leaned in closer to me. Our lips less than an inch apart, I felt myself smiling and closing my eyes. But all good things must come to an end.

"Josh, was that you?" Topanga's voice rang throughout the apartment. The two of us instinctively pulled away from each other while Topanga walked into the room.

Josh stood up and stepped away from me and towards Topanga. "Yeah, sorry I didn't give you a heads up." He glanced at me and, embarrassed, I looked down. My lips still held a small smile but I longed to be with him alone again. If only Topanga hadn't interrupted the moment.

Topanga led Josh to the kitchen where they discussed possible dinner options for when Riley and Lucas returned from the movie. I tried to focus on watching them decide, or scrolling through my phone, or even thinking about school work that needed to get done before Monday. Somehow all I could bring myself to think about was how in that one moment, the long game felt much shorter.

 **A/N: So I decided to try something new. It's been a while since I've written any fanfiction and I needed a bit of a break from some of the more serious, less light-hearted stuff I've been working on. It would mean the world to me if anyone reading this could let me know what you think, good or bad. Please don't hate the story because of the pairing. Thank you!**


	2. Girl Meets Confessions

**Chapter Two- Girl Meets Confessions**

I sat on the couch pretending to play on my phone while Topanga and Josh talked in the kitchen. They had a lot to catch up on since Josh hadn't spoken to the Matthews since the ski lodge, either. I felt almost like furniture sitting in their house, listening to their conversations. "So how do you like NYU?"

Josh glanced my direction while he leaned back on the counter. "Well I haven't started class yet, but I do love New York." I could tell he wasn't thrilled to speak with Topanga. Every moment or so he would look over at me. Something about this particular visit from Josh felt different. Part of me hoped this would be the time something would finally happen. He used to be only a fantasy and all of a sudden he sat _right there_ stealing glances at me while pretending to show interest in a conversation with his sister-in-law.

Topanga nodded, understand his love of New York since she, too, felt the same way. "How about spaghetti? You'll stay for dinner, right?"

He contemplated the question. Something told me that his original plan didn't include dinner. "I suppose dinner here will be better than anything I find on campus." He made his way to the kitchen table while Topanga began cooking and I couldn't decide what to do. Should I move to sit next to him or should I keep pretending to sit in my own little world?

"Something feels strange in here…" Topanga began, searching the room. "Ah, Maya, I know. You haven't jumped all over Josh yet." My eyes shot up to look at Topanga and I started to feel guilty. I didn't know why, but my whole thing with Josh didn't seem like her business yet. As much as I wanted everything out in the open, I didn't want to risk ruining it before it even started. And I knew Josh wouldn't want Cory knowing about our...well, fling, I guess. At least not right away.

Josh rolled his eyes and laughed, remembering all the times I had pounced on him the second he stepped through the front door. "Maybe she's waiting for her moment."

I shook my head and finally took the opportunity to stand up and move to the kitchen. "I'm right here," I stood on the edge of the kitchen table, about to sit down across from Josh. "And maybe I've matured since I used to do things like that."

"Well from what I can remember, it happened only a few months ago," Topanga joked. She poured a box of spaghetti into a pot of boiling water.

I blushed and took my seat across from Josh. "Any idea what time Riley will get home?" Josh questioned, noticing my itch to change the subject. "They'll be here for dinner, right?"

I smiled, relieved to have finished discussing what made me seem like an obsessive middle school girl. Now that things with Josh seemed less like a pipe dream, I needed to stop treating him like my celebrity crush. "They should get back in a little less than an hour."

"Perfect," Topanga smiled. She turned around and started to walk to Auggie's room. "Oh, Josh, can you make sure the spaghetti doesn't boil over?" Josh nodded and Topanga continues until she disappeared into Auggie's bedroom.

When she left, Josh looked over to me and gave me a sheepish grin. "That conversation took a quick change of pace." Then his smile disappeared for a moment. "Maybe for the best." I felt the smile fade from my lips. It was wishful thinking. No way would someone like Josh ever like someone like me. Especially after all those years of him telling me it could never happen. "I mean with all the complications what with the age thing and our…"

"I get it, you don't have to spell it out for me," I interrupted, pulling my eyes away from him. It hurt to hear him say it like this out loud. I spent so long getting my hopes up and then finally got something he said to hold onto. Now nothing could hurt more than hearing all that vanish as quickly as it came.

His eyes showed the same pain that mine felt. "Maya, I didn't mean it like that. I just think…"

"I got it," I snapped.

He kept trying to talk to me but I started to get up to walk away. He grabbed onto my hand and I tried to rip it away but he finally stood up and pulled me back next to him. "Maya, I don't care. I like you, remember? I didn't make all that up. I'm in. I told you." He held onto my hand with his right hand and my waist with his other and it felt like a scene from a romantic comedy. I couldn't help but blush at the feeling of his hands on me. Now, it seemed as if he reciprocated the feelings I had no trouble displaying for almost three years. "I mean maybe we're moving too quickly and should take a second to talk before jumping into something."

I tried to keep myself from smiling. I still didn't understand what he meant. We already had a conversation about it before Topanga interrupted us. It didn't feel like we had much more to discuss. If we both liked each other, why couldn't we jump into something? As much as I liked feeling him hold onto me, I pulled away from his embrace, sitting back down in my chair. "I need to know this is real."

He sat down next to me this time. "What do you mean?"

My eyes returned to his. "You know what I mean. This concept of you and me isn't new to me. I've liked you for a long time. I don't want to get my hopes up for you to change your mind."

Once again, he broke our eye contact, wishing he could promise me that he wouldn't. After a moment of contemplation, I almost gave up waiting. I had never been so scared of getting hurt. He finally met my eyes again and turned to face me. "Look, I can't promise you anything. I don't know what will happen if we try to make this work. All I know is that I like you and I do _want_ to try it. I get it if you want more, but I can't give you that."

I let out a smile, perfectly content with him promising only that. "Okay."

 **A/N: Thank you for all of the comments after the last chapter. I decided to write another one almost right away because I can't wait to get to what I have planned for later in the story. Thanks for reading and please continue to let me know what you think. I know it's moving a little slow right now but I promise there's more action to come.**


	3. Girl Meets Dating

**Chapter Three- Girl Meets Dating**

Another half hour passed before Riley and Lucas returned from their movie. Topanga returned to the kitchen after I finished my conversation with Josh. That meant nothing ever progressed from my "okay". Josh could not have known what that "okay" meant, but I knew I would have a chance to clarify later. For now, it felt good to be the one making him wait.

Cory arrived home from a meeting about five minutes after Riley and Lucas. Of course, Topanga had dinner ready almost right on time. Auggie came running from his room right on cue with the sound of the oven timer. We all sat down to eat, excited for Topanga's spaghetti. I sat at the side of the table closest to the living room with Josh on one side and Riley on the other. Next to Riley sat Lucas, then Auggie, then Topanga, then Cory. Thrilled to begin eating, no one said anything for a long time. Topanga became the one to break the silence. "Did you enjoy the movie?" She looked toward Riley and Lucas.

Lucas nodded. "I loved it." I couldn't remember what movie they had seen, but it seemed to be the opposite of what Lucas would enjoy. Riley picked the girliest romantic comedy in theaters and asked Lucas to see it with her. He could never say no to her, though.

"What did you guys do here?" Riley asked, gazing toward Josh and me. Since Josh and I hadn't gotten a chance to _really_ talk, we didn't plan on confessing anything to Riley. We needed to know for sure. And I definitely didn't know our status yet.

I glanced at Josh out of the corner of my eye and kept myself from blushing. "Nothing much."

Topanga let out a small laugh before contributing to my statement. "Well, we did discuss Maya's behavior around Josh over the past several months."

I shot a glare at Topanga. I thought we finished talking about this. I had no idea why Topanga felt the need to keep bringing it up. If anything, it reminded Josh how immature I had acted only two months earlier. "Well, _you_ discussed it. Josh and I rolled our eyes."

I hoped he would agree with my statement. Luckily, everyone laughed it off and we stopped talking about it. Riley raised an eyebrow next to me and mumbled under her breath so no one could hear, "Maya, bay window after dinner." She noticed that something had happened that we hadn't admitted to. Of course, I planned on telling Riley everything after Josh left that night. I nodded to show that I approved of Riley's plan.

"Mommy, can Ava come over tomorrow to play?" Auggie chimed in. I smiled because Auggie always had a way of helping us all to forget the troubles of our young adult lives.

Topanga grinned, probably realizing the same thing as me. "Of course."

Cory, who had remained silent for most of dinner, decided to bring on the dinner compliments. "The spaghetti is great, Topanga." He took another bite and then looked down at his plate, then at Lucas's. "Wait...he got an extra meatball." He displayed a similar glare to the one I gave Topanga after she mentioned my immature tendencies.

"Sorry, Cory, but sometimes I have an uneven number of meatballs." This argument continues for a few moments while I started to tune everything out. Josh's head had tilted my direction while he ate and I tried my hardest to hold in another blush. His grin provoked a lot of temptation for my nerves.

A few minutes passed and soon everyone had finished eating. Topanga already stood in the kitchen filling the dishwasher while Cory said goodbye to Josh. They shared a quick hug before Josh walked over to give the same to Topanga. He lifted up Auggie to give him a tight squeeze as well. Josh's close relationship with Auggie was one of the things that attracted me most to Josh. After that, Josh made his way over to Riley whom he gave another light hug. He assured each person he wouldn't stay away for two whole months this time.

After the goodbyes, Josh gave me a nod, gesturing for me to follow him. I made sure no one watched too closely while I followed Josh to the Matthews' laundry room. It sat a few feet from the front door which made it easy for us to sneak off for a second.

He held my hand and shut the door in a quiet manner behind us. "Okay?" He asked.

It took me a second to understand what he meant, but then I remembered my last word to him earlier that night. "Oh, okay as in I'm in, too. I want to try it."

His eyes seemed to fill with joy when I told him how I felt. "Good. Are you free on Friday night?"

I tried to hesitate, to think of a way to sound a little less desperate to spend time with him. But I couldn't. I desperately wanted this. "What did you have in mind?" I needed him to say the words out loud. Something about that would give me peace.

"Will you go out on a date with me?" The words sounded different than I had imagined them. It sounds crazy; I knew I was 15 and this wasn't some big romance story. Yet I still found myself in love with hearing someone say those words to me out loud.

My cheeks turned red, yet again, and I looked up at him to give an answer. "Of course."

Josh squeezed my hand that I had failed to notice still sat in his. He leaned down, kissed me on the cheek, and then let go. "Good. I'll see you then." With that, he left the laundry room and then exited through the Matthews' front door.

He left me with a smile on my face, leaning against the laundry room wall and biting my lip in excitement. Part of me felt anxious; I had never gone on a true date. But the other part of me had never felt so happy. When I finally managed to leave the laundry room, I made my way to Riley's bay window. We needed to talk. I couldn't stand another minute without filling in my best friend on the new update.

When I reached Riley's room, I found her already sitting at the window, waiting for me to join her. Lucas hadn't left, but he knew we needed a girl talk, so he stayed in the kitchen talking to Auggie. "Okay, spill. Tell me absolutely everything."

I burst into a smile the size of Texas at the thought of what had happened. Then everything started to spill, like Riley requested. I told her about our discussion of "the long game", how Josh confessed how he felt about me, then how we decided "the long game" felt a little too long, and how we almost kissed before Topanga interrupted us. Then I told her about Josh stealing glances at me while talking with Topanga and Topanga joking about our past and Josh saying it was a good thing Topanga interrupted us and me completely snapping. Finally, I told her about what he said in the laundry room and how he asked me out. It felt like the greatest story in the world as I kept replaying the entire night in my head. I didn't think I had ever felt so happy.

When I finally finished filling Riley in, she nearly screamed as she jumped and wrapped her arms around me. "Yay!" She shared my gigantic smile now. "I'm so happy for you, Maya."

I had no idea why, but I felt relieved when Riley said that. Something in me had felt nervous that she might be upset about the hypothetical scenario of me dating her uncle. But she seemed to put that aside to be happy for me. I loved Riley for that very reason. "Thanks, Riles. I can't wait."

We continued to talk for a long time until I realized I needed to head home to my mom and Shawn. I hadn't spoken to either of them all night. On my way out, I ran into Lucas. He must have eavesdropped on part of our conversation. The look he gave me seemed different than how he normally looked at me. Even if Lucas did find out, I didn't care. It took everything in me to refrain from shouting it from the rooftops.

 **A/N: Thanks a ton for all of the amazing reviews the last two chapters. It makes it a lot easier to write when you guys give me feedback. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story. Thanks for reading and please continue to let me know what you think! And I'd love to hear any predictions you might have for the future of the story!**


	4. Girl Meets First Date

**Chapter Four- Girl Meets First Date**

Friday never took as long to come as it did the week of my first date with Josh. Although school hadn't begun yet, it still took forever to reach Friday. Thinking about our first date brought me back to the memories of going out with Farkle. That didn't count as a real date to me and I had ended the night still thinking of Josh. But the concept of a "first date" remained the same. Yet somehow this felt completely different. Part of me felt nervous, but that part felt completely overwhelmed by the part that felt excited. Friday afternoon, I walked to the Matthews' so that Riley could help me get ready for the date.

I brought a few options for clothes, but nothing felt right to either of us. We decided to make a quick shopping trip down the street. I didn't know what store we had reached when I saw the dress I wanted to wear, but I know that when I saw myself in the mirror, I had decided it needed to be the one. I chose a black, sleeveless skater dress with floral details in pink and green.

The second I saw myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but smile. It had been years since I looked in the mirror and felt that confident. No, not only confident. Beautiful. I twirled in a circle and then leaned against the wall of the dressing room, biting my lip. My first real date.

Riley knocked on the door to the dressing room and I snapped out of la la land. "Maya, do you like it?"

I broke into another smile and opened the door for Riley to see. "I love it, Riles." I pulled her further into the room and shut the door. "Okay, now imagine it with my denim jacket…" I looked down at my feet. "And my heeled black lace up boots."

Riley grinned and almost jumped up and down. "Yes! I can't wait to see it all put together."

I ran my hand through my hair and bit my lip again. I had honestly never felt so happy. My best friend stood next to me, completely supportive of my new fling with her uncle. Having Riley by my side made it all feel so much better. I changed back into my clothes and then paid for the new dress.

Riley and I almost ran back to her apartment, overjoyed to get ready for the date. We settled in Riley's room and she sat in the bay window while I prepared myself. I once again slipped on the dress, then my jacket, and then my shoes. Then I stood in front of the mirror in Riley's room to put on my makeup, all in a simple light pink shade.

I still hadn't told anyone other than Riley about the date. I assumed Lucas had to know because of our awkward encounter at Riley's house a few nights before. Something in me hesitated to tell Cory and Topanga or Shawn and my mom. They might not approve because of the age gap...or because Josh was Cory's brother. It all depended on how that first night went.

When the clock turned to 6:00 P.M., I made my way downstairs in the building to meet Josh at the front door. We decided to meet downstairs to avoid any confrontation in the Matthews' apartment. Josh already stood outside the front doors, standing with a stupid grin on his face. He turned around to see me just as I stepped through the doors, and I felt my smile grow.

"You look gorgeous," he mumbled happily while he moved closer to me. He glanced down at my hand and I could tell he hesitated to do anything.

I blushed while he finally made the move and reached out to take my hand. "How about we walk around through the city for a bit and then eat?" He asked, sounding a bit more awkward than normal. Somehow it made me feel even better that he showed a hint of nervousness as well.

"Sounds perfect," I nodded. We started walking down the street, hand in hand. The streets of New York had always felt romantic and thought provoking to me. Though somehow walking with Josh made it feel even more peaceful.

Josh stayed silent for a moment until I glanced at him. He blushed and looked away, then back at me. "I can't believe we're doing this." He laughed a little and then jumped to redeem himself. "I mean...I'm happy."

My eyes closed for a moment, trying to take in everything I felt. "Me, too."

His hand squeezed mine. "I spent so much time thinking about the three year age gap that I never stopped to think about how I felt about you. Well, until I talked with Riley at the ski lodge."

I raised my eyebrow. "What did she say that made you change your mind?"

"Hearing her talk about you and Lucas, I guess. I knew you didn't _really_ like Lucas, but seeing you around him, the faces you made, how you two spoke during that stupid game...I don't know. It made me feel something." His voice sounded hesitant, almost worried that what he said might change my mind.

I looked up at him, starting to question exactly how this all began for him. Did he only notice his feelings for me because of my weird fling with Lucas? "Jealousy?"

But he shook his head. "No."

He paused. "What did it make you feel then?" I asked.

"I don't know." He moved to sit on a bench near the sidewalk so the two of us could take a break. He stared forward, clearly confused. "I've had other relationships before. But what I felt that day at the ski lodge...Maya, I've never felt anything like that."

I didn't want to get too excited. I just wanted to know exactly what he meant by this nondescript feeling. "Josh…" Speechless. Words could not form for the life of me.

His eyes had avoided me throughout the entire statement. "Here's my thing: I don't want to move too fast. This all happened so quickly and I didn't expect it all to move like this. I know what I feel, and you know what you feel. Both of us want this to work. The only way that can happen, though, is if we take our time. I want this to work."

I smiled, trying to keep myself calm. "Me too." I had a hard time saying anything beyond that.

"Okay, good." He grinned and stood up, reaching out for my hand. "Ready to go eat?"

The rest of the night that followed was as amazing as the first twenty minutes. It still felt almost like an out of body experience. He opened the door for me into the restaurant we ate at, paid for the meal, and did everything to prove himself. We sat on the patio to eat because of the warm weather that night. We walked straight back to the Matthews' apartment after, though neither of us wanted the night to end. We didn't want to move to fast and knew it needed to end before we got in over our heads. Still, Josh was in no hurry to let me disappear back into the apartment building.

We stood outside the front doors, off to the side with hopes that anyone walking by would avoid us. He didn't want to go back to NYU and I didn't want to go back inside. Even though we both knew the smartest thing was to go our separate ways, we continued to stand there in silence. "I had a great time," Josh finally broke the silence.

"Me too," I agreed.

His eyes narrowed as he looked into mine and I could feel him stepping closer. I planted my feet and stayed still, a little scared. Could this be my first kiss? Soon his hand sat on my cheek and his head lingered only inches away from mine. Then, after waiting one more moment, he leaned in and our lips locked. My first kiss.

I felt Josh gently pushing me against the wall of the apartment building and I blushed, my heart racing faster than it had ever gone. He deepened our kiss as he gripped my cheek with one hand and my back with the other. I couldn't help but lean into it as well, wrapping my lips around his. My hands reached around his neck as I pulled his head closer.

Then, as soon as it started, it ended. I heard the awkward sound of footsteps suddenly coming to a halt and then a loud noise of some sort coming from a man only a few feet away from us. Josh and I pulled apart and looked towards the noise. My heart stopped and Josh released his hands from my body, instantly feeling ashamed.

Cory Matthews.

 **A/N: Thanks again for reading, guys! I'm really enjoying writing this story. Please continue to let me know what you think, what you hope happens next, and what you predict will happen next. Thanks for all of the great reviews! Also, I made a Polyvore set for this chapter so if you want to know what Maya's outfit looks like, you can search "gleekyoutsider5" on Polyvore and her outfit is posted on there.**


	5. Girl Meets Tension

**Chapter Five- Girl Meets Tension**

The second I saw Cory standing on the sidewalk staring at his little brother and me, I wanted to curl up in a corner. We didn't think Cory or Topanga would return to the apartment for a while still. I don't know what happened next because I zoned out the second Cory made his signature noise: a high pitched yelp. Soon, he dragged Josh into the building and up the stairs until they reached the couch of the Matthews' apartment. I followed behind, terrified of what Cory might say. I finally snapped out of my daze when Josh sat on the couch.

I positioned myself in a chair a few feet away from him. "You!" Cory almost yelled, pointing his finger at Josh. "And you!" He turned, pointing at me. Josh looked down, ashamed. I turned to look at him. "She's 15!" He yelled at Josh once again. "He's my brother!" He shouted at me, confused. "How did this happen?"

Josh and I looked at each other and then lost eye contact right away when Josh broke it. "Cory, you've known about Maya and me for years…"

"No!" Cory interrupted. "I did not _know_ or I wouldn't react like this. She liked you. You...and...her. A fantasy!" He remembered my words from the ski lodge when I reminded everyone that Josh represented a fantasy that could never come true. "Fantasies are funny. Maya's fantasies make me laugh. Do you see me laughing now?" He pointed back at himself.

Josh and I both shook our heads. Josh started to stand up before Cory's eyes flickered back to him. "You are too old for her."

"Trust me, I used to think that, too. But things have changed, Maya…" Josh started before Cory interrupted, once again.

"She's only 15!" Cory shouted at Josh.

Riley started to walk out into the living room and I face palmed. I didn't want Riley to hear all this. I felt embarrassed and ill prepared to face confrontation from Cory and Topanga. "Bay window. Bay window now." Riley dragged me by the arm into her room as I gave Josh a hopeful smile. I hoped that once I left, Cory would see our side.

Unfortunately, I could still hear Cory yelling from inside Riley's closed door. "First of all, did you have fun on your date?"

I nodded, showing my sincerity with a grin. "I had such an amazing time, Riles."

"Good," Riley smiled in response to my joy. "But second, my dad has a point. I promise that I meant it when I told you I'm happy for you. But you don't know Josh like I do, Maya. He doesn't have the same relationship experience as you do. I've seen him with countless girlfriends. Even though I do think he could care about you, and I don't doubt that he does, I don't want you getting hurt. If you make this a relationship rather than a crush, you could see all kinds of things go wrong."

I couldn't believe my ears. Riley had encouraged me to go for it less than a week earlier, but now she took Cory's side? And why hadn't she mentioned Josh's previous relationships until that night? "What do you mean?" I couldn't think of another response. She had to be joking.

"I just want you to know everything before getting into this," Riley said, looking down. She didn't want to hurt my feelings, and I loved her for that, but I needed answers.

I rolled my eyes, but felt awful about it right away. "Okay. So tell me. What am I getting into?"

Riley hesitated, not wanting to ruin my dreams of a relationship with Josh. "He hasn't had _a lot_ of relationships, but definitely enough for him to know what he's doing, much more so than you do. Keep in mind, your experience doesn't go beyond Lucas. You have _no_ experience. He has a lot. I love Josh, Maya. For me and Auggie, Josh is like another brother. That said, I don't want you to get hurt."

I frowned. I couldn't believe Riley had changed her mind so much since the last time we talked about this. "So you don't want us to go out?"

She paused once again, afraid of hurting my feelings. Too late. "I didn't say…"

"Forget it." I needed my best friend to talk to about this, but I needed her to listen to _me_ , not her father. And Riley didn't plan on doing that. After the encouragement Riley gave me following the events at the ski lodge, I hoped she would at least consider the idea of Josh and I as a couple. I guess I thought wrong.

I stood up and left Riley's room, even more upset than when I had entered it. The bay window that used to cheer me up no matter the situation now made me feel worse. I found Josh sitting on the couch of the Matthews' apartment, listening with tears in his eyes as Cory sat next to him. I waited outside Riley's room to see what I could hear.

"You're my little brother. Obviously your happiness matters to me. But with Maya things can't happen like how they've happened with the other girls. You've known her for a long time and you know that I love Maya like a daughter. Trust me, Josh. She's too young right now. Too young and vulnerable." Cory had his hand on Josh's shoulder while Josh avoided eye contact.

Josh shook his head. "You don't get it, Cor. I've never felt this way about a girl before. I've thought about it for months and I still feel the same. The age thing shouldn't matter." He turned his head away from Cory to hide the tears. "I wouldn't hurt her like you think I will."

"But Josh, sometimes you can't control it. Sometimes things will just happen, things you have nothing to do with." Cory reached for a box of tissues to hand to Josh but Josh started to shake his head. "We can talk tomorrow. For now, you should head home and think about this."

Josh nodded and stood up. Without another word, he walked through the door. I wanted to see him before he left and I knew he wanted to see me as well, at least I hoped he did. I didn't know why he couldn't wait a little while to say goodbye. "Maya?" Cory's voice snapped me out of my own head.

"You don't need to lecture me, too, Mr. Matthews. I got it." I started to walk toward the door.

Cory's voice stopped me once again. "No, you don't, Maya. I love both you and Josh and I don't want either of you hurting each other. No one in this family, including the two of you, could take the pain of that."

"Who says anyone has to hurt anyone?" I asked, my voice coming up much more angry than I actually felt. In reality, I just felt sad.

Cory shrugged. "I didn't. I'd like to prevent the risk, though."

I thought long and hard about what he said, but it never made sense. "I'm going home." And with that, I walked through the door the same way Josh had only moments earlier. I hoped I would see him on my downstairs if I walked fast enough.

Lucky for me, I found Josh standing right outside the Matthews' front door, leaning against the wall. He stopped leaning when he saw me and reached for my hand. "Are you okay?"

It took me a while to respond. That question never had a difficult answer for me. I'm always okay. But this time, I didn't know if I could lie. Josh and I needed each other. I knew he wanted to stand by my side and help me. I wanted to tell him exactly how I felt after hearing what Riley and Cory had to say. Yet, when I started to think about what they had said, telling him my feelings scared me. What if I told him how scared Riley made me about the fate of our relationship? He could get defensive. Or worse, he could get mad at that small part of me that believed Riley. What if I told him I might agree with his older brother? Part of me still believed I could destroy any good thing that comes in my path. Up until this point, I had done so to _everything_...well, everything except for Riley. And now I might have destroyed that as well. I wanted to scream. Josh waited for an answer to his question and I wanted to tell him everything and for him to hold me and tell me it might work out okay. But I couldn't do it.

"I'm always okay."

 **A/N: Once again, thanks for the great reviews. I really enjoy reading what you guys have to say about the story and the future of the story. Now that the action is finally beginning, there's a lot of fun to come. Please continue to let me know what you're thinking about these chapters and what you think might happen next. Thanks!**


	6. Girl Meets Overprotective Parents

**Chapter Six- Girl Meets Overprotective Parents**

I walked home, feeling less enthused than I had a few hours earlier. Josh walked next to me to make sure I would arrive home safely. I didn't speak to him the whole way back. I couldn't quite figure out why I didn't feel safe telling Josh how I felt, but I knew it had nothing to do with him. I didn't want to destroy it, and letting him see the real me might do that.

If it hadn't been dark out, Josh could have seen the tears filling my eyes when he said goodbye to me at my front door. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and squeezed my hand, wishing me luck in dealing with the repercussions of all this.

I couldn't stop thinking about my decision to keep quiet, to keep my feelings to myself. What did that mean for the fate of our relationship? What if I never felt safe to tell him those kinds of things? I knew I liked him and I knew I could tell him anything, and I really wanted to. In fact, I had until this point. I told him almost everything. But something changed that night, and I didn't know what.

I snuck inside, despite knowing that my mom and Shawn wouldn't be angry about the time. I had dealt with enough confrontation for one night. I felt awful about lying to Josh and about my fight with Riley, so I decided to text him when I finally changed into pajamas and reached my bed. The conversation felt dull and normal, which was unusual compared to the epic discussion we usually experienced together. But despite the lack of excitement, I still could not have felt happier to talk to him. We fell asleep sometime around three in the morning, still talking about whatever came up.

I woke up to the smell of pancakes wafting through the house and into my bedroom. Shawn's loved eating pancakes for breakfast and with my mom's help, Shawn figured out how to cook them as well. I looked forward to tasting what they came up with breakfast each weekend.

"Good morning, sweetie," my mom smiled as I walked into the kitchen. I sat at the kitchen table next to Shawn while my mom handed me a plate of pancakes. "Did you have a good night with Riley?"

They had to know something happened. I planned on staying the night at Riley's but if I had done that, I wouldn't be sitting in our kitchen for breakfast. "Yeah, I needed some rest, though." I didn't want either of them to know what happened. At least not yet.

"Cory texted me this morning," Shawn started, glancing at me between bites of his pancake.

He didn't need to say anything else. I knew Cory had told him everything. "Of course he did."

Shawn looked at me and waited a minute to see if I had anything else to say. "He didn't tell me everything. He wanted to give us all time to talk."

I leaned back in my chair and stopped eating. "What do we need to talk about? No one has given _me_ any time to think about this." I didn't realize it until then, but Josh and I barely had an opportunity to discuss where we stood with each other given everything the Matthews' had thrown at us.

"I just want to contribute to the discussion," Shawn shrugged, continuing to eat his breakfast. "I know Josh. I've known him his whole life. Not only that, but I know what he thinks like. Cory and I were teenage boys once, too. You can't see what he and I see here."

My mom looked between Shawn and I while we spoke. "I hate to say it because I know you like Josh a lot, but they both have a point." She reached for my hand but I looked away. "I don't want you to get hurt, either."

"So somehow all that means that Josh is going to hurt me?" I asked, a little angry at how quickly they jumped to that conclusion.

Shawn looked over at me. "Maya, Cory and I have fed Josh advice his whole life. Advice favorable for him, not for any girl that comes along."

I raised my eyebrow, shocked that Cory and Shawn would ever give Josh advice that might not support everyone's best interest. "Oh so now that Josh's girl advice involves me you've changed your mind? Of course, no girl he previously dated matters as much, right?"

My mom immediately came to their defense. "Maya, you know he doesn't mean it like that."

"He means that Josh can play the tricks you and Cory taught him on any girl unless that girl is me." I rolled my eyes and stood up, hoping to get a break from the conversation. I needed someone to listen, someone to understand. I really wanted Josh, but first I needed friends. Well, friends other than Riley.

I walked to my room and reached for my phone, hoping that someone would listen and someone would take my side. I stumbled upon a group chat containing me, Lucas, Riley, Smackle, Farkle, and Zay. Since I didn't want to deal with Riley, I decided to start a new group text between me, Lucas, Smackle, Farkle, and Zay.

 _Hey, do you guys want to meet at Topanga's? I could use some friends. -Maya_

Smackle and Farkle both texted back right away that they would meet at Topanga's in a few minutes. Lucas couldn't make it because he didn't want to exclude Riley. Zay replied after a while and agreed to come as well. I left my house without addressing Shawn and my mom, and I made my way towards Topanga's.

Right when I reached the coffee shop, I noticed Smackle and Farkle sitting in our usual chairs, waiting for me to arrive. I sat on the couch by myself and took a deep breath. Although it had been hard for Farkle and Smackle to give advice like this in the past, I hoped that they would understand and at least support my decisions.

Zay showed up a few minutes later. He sat down next to me on the couch as well. "So what happened, Maya?" Farkle asked.

"Yeah, why didn't you invite Riley?" Smackle followed.

My eyes shot up at Smackle and I instantly regretted inviting her. I did like Smackle, but I wasn't in the mood for her comments. But despite it all, Smackle made a great friend. And I needed more of those if I no longer had Riley. "Riley is the problem."

"What do you mean?" Zay asked.

I shrugged. "Josh and I...Josh, Riley's uncle, and I are together. We started...I don't know, dating, I guess. We haven't labeled it."

Smackle's eyes lit up. "Boing?!"

I nodded. "Yeah, Boing." I waited to see if anyone else had an opinion about that, and then continued. "Well we went out last night. And when we got home, Riley's dad lectured us about how I'm too young for him and how he's gonna hurt me. Riley took his side."

"Riley took Mr. Matthews' side? Over yours?" Farkle's face displayed obvious confusion. Riley _always_ chose my side. I still didn't understand why she suddenly chose Cory's.

I just nodded and waited for someone else to say something. "Maya...you and Riley will get through this." I think that came from Zay. "You always do."

"I hope so." I sighed. "I could really use my best friend right now."

Smackle decided to change the subject. "So you and Uncle Boing?" She seemed excited, exactly how I wanted Riley to behave.

"Yeah," I couldn't help but let a smile escape. Smackle and I went back and forth talking about all things me and Josh for a long time and the boys just rolled their eyes, annoyed by how obsessed the two of us got about things like this.

After all of that, I regretted the little bit of annoyance I felt towards Smackle. I needed a friend, and without Riley I needed a girl more than anything. And Smackle wanted that too. So I embraced it, and hoped that I would grow to love Smackle as much as I loved Riley, fully knowing it was impossible.

 **A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update. I've been on spring break and kind of going through some stuff the last couple of weeks. I finally finished this chapter though so here it is! Hopefully the updates happen a lot more quickly from now on. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and any predictions for future chapters. Thanks!**


	7. Girl Meets The First Fight

**Chapter 7- Girl Meets The First Fight**

Lonely after spending the day away from Riley, my Sunday dragged on for what felt like forever. Thankfully, a text from Josh cheered me up.

Hey, I know it's the last minute, but wanna go to a play with me tonight? It's NYU's summer production and it sounds great. -Josh

My eyes lit up at the message. Only two days had passed since our first date, but I longed to spend more time with him. This sounded especially perfect because Riley and the Matthews' would have no idea. Not only did he want to spend more time with me, but he also wanted me to come to his college campus, somewhere people he knew might see us together.

He informed me that he would pick me up a couple hours later, so I immediately jumped out of my bed and ran to my closet to search for the perfect outfit. I decided to call Smackle to see if she had any suggestions. "Smackle, I'm going to a play with Josh tonight, what should I wear?"

"Ooh okay! I don't know, I'm not great at fashion advice. But if I had to make a suggestion, I think you look fantastic in that cold shoulder red dress you wore to the art show last month." She squealed at the excitement of the date and I laughed a little, grateful for how happy Smackle seemed for Josh and me.

I loved the suggestion because the dress seemed like the perfect choice for this event. Dressy but not over the top, casual but not something I would wear to school. I hung up with Smackle after finishing the conversation and put on the red dress she had suggested. Feeling girly, I twirled around and fell back on my bed out of pure joy. After so many years of pining after Josh, he finally admitted to reciprocating my feelings and actually wanted to go out with me. I didn't think this feeling would ever get old.

He showed up at my front door an hour after I finished getting ready. I raced to open it before Shawn or my mom could beat me there and luckily, I made it in time. We started walking right away, on our way to the nearest subway station. "You look gorgeous, as always," Josh said as he took my hand. We entered the subway and sat close to the door. "Thank you for going with me."

My cheeks burned a bright red. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course," he squeezed my hand and I noticed a little red in his cheeks as well. "I have a few friends that might sit with us, is that okay?"

I nodded, overjoyed that he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me. "Definitely." We arrived at the campus auditorium a little while later and he continued to hold my hand while we walked inside. We took our seats and waited for the play to begin and for his friends to arrive. Soon, a beautiful red-head sat next to Josh with her arm around a boy who formed the perfect representation of the tall dark, and handsome stereotype.

"Hey guys," Josh nodded at his friends. "This is Maya. Maya, these are my friends Cassie and Dante."

Cassie, the gorgeous red-head, pulled me into a hug. I cringed a little at how friendly she seemed right off the bat. I hated so much human contact with people I didn't know, but I decided to put up with it for Josh. "So nice to meet you! We've heard so much!" She grinned at me and then continued to Josh, "She's cute."

Dante nodded in agreement with Cassie as the lights began to dim for the beginning of the play. "Oh hey Josh, are you guys going to that frat party on Friday?"

Josh glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and then back at Dante. "I might go but she's probably not."

I turned to face Josh. Did I say I couldn't go to the party? I didn't even know it was happening. "What party?" I decided to make it known that I knew nothing about the party.

Josh's head turned to face me. "I figured it wouldn't be a good scene for you. Those frat guys can get pretty wild; I don't think it would be a good place for a high school girl." Cassie and Dante could clearly sense the awkward energy because they kept glancing at each other and trying to figure out how to interrupt.

"Got it." I nodded and turned my head to face the stage. Luckily, the lights had completely dimmed and the show was starting.

About two hours later, the play ended. Josh said his goodbyes to Cassie and Dante and they both said they hoped to see me again soon. Then the two of us started to head back to the subway. "I'm sorry I didn't mention the party, I just don't think it's a good idea. There's gonna be drinking and a lot of other stuff and I don't want you to get hurt or anything."

"I can protect myself," I said. He should have known all this by now. He'd known me since my early childhood.

He rolled his eyes. "I know that, Maya. It's not about you. It's about all the creepy older college guys that will be wasted this weekend, the ones hitting on you and trying to get you drunk and stuff. I don't want to put you through that."

"That's not your place to decide, it's mine." I continued walking and pulled my hand away when he tried to hold me back. We finally got passed the age barrier to having a relationship with each other but now he wanted to use it to limit our relationship. I hated it when he treated me like I was just some kid that he needed to protect.

He followed me all the way to the subway until we sat down next to each other. We sat in silence for a few moments until I finally turned to face him. "Look, I like you. A lot. But we need to be equals. Age doesn't matter anymore, okay?"

"I disagree. I want to be with you but sometimes things happen that just won't work because of the age difference. I will try as hard as I can to prevent those things from happening but it's pretty much inevitable." He looked down, realizing that he couldn't reason with me. I made up my mind.

My eyes rolled inside my head as I turned to face him. "It's just a dumb party, I don't get what the big deal is."

"I don't want to argue with you about this. Why can't we stay happy?" He reached for my hand and I let him take it. After all, I did really like him and I wanted for this to work out. I needed to prove him wrong, to prove that we could work and that age didn't matter. But to do that, I couldn't let our age difference start getting in the way so early on. I squeezed his hand in mine, still in love with the way it felt. He let out a small smile and then continued, "If it means this much to you, I won't even go to the party. It doesn't sound that fun to begin with."

I shook my head. "That's not the problem, Josh."

"I get that." He avoided looking at me as the subway doors opened for my stop.

We both started to stand up until I turned to stop him. "You don't need to walk me home, I'm gonna stop by the Matthews' and see if Riley's ready to talk."

"You sure?" He asked. I nodded and got off the subway, heading towards Riley's apartment. When I got there, I walked right in, like I always do, and noticed Lucas's shoes at the door. No one noticed I walked in as everyone either already went to bed or had plans other than sitting out in the open waiting for me to walk in. As a result, I walked over to Riley's room and just as I lifted my hand to knock on the door, it opened and I came face to face with Lucas.

He grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the door whispering. "Riley can't see you."

"What the hell, Lucas? This is none of her business. I came to talk it out with her, not to yell at her." I pulled my hand away from him and started to walk back.

"Maya, seriously, will you listen to me please?" He looked me right in the eyes and I couldn't resist giving him that small favor. That's what friends are for, right?

"Fine." I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the apartment and into the hallway. "What do you want, Huckleberry?"

He took a breath before speaking. "She needs some time to think about all this stuff with you and Josh before she fully accepts everything. For us, this thing between you guys happened really fast and no one expected it, so we need time to process it. To her, all of a sudden you started dating her uncle who's told her about all his crazy party nights from high school and the girls he's broken up with for superficial reasons. On top of that, he has a lot more...like, physical experience than you do. She doesn't want you getting hurt. And from her perspective, you're not even open to listening to her. So give her a couple days. She'll come around, I promise. She needs time."

I listened and then sighed. "Fine. But if I can't talk to Riley, I need to talk to someone. How do you feel about walking home with me and giving some advice?"

Lucas shrugged. "I guess. But if you don't like my advice, don't blame me."

I walked him all the way home because he hated walking through my neighborhood, and then left him at his doorstep. I filled him in on everything with Josh and all he did was stare at me, pretending not to have the same opinion as Riley. When we reached his house, he finally gave me his two cents. "Look, I want you to be happy. If that's with Josh, date Josh. But if he's already making you feel like this, you deserve better, Maya." His hand cupped my cheek and I stared at him, somehow feeling frozen and unable to respond. "See you tomorrow."

He left me standing there on his doorstep to think about what he said. I deserve better? What does that even mean? Josh has always been the best. No one in the world compares to how I feel about him. And why did Lucas care so much? He chose Riley. He always wanted Riley. He never liked me at all. And the only reason I thought I liked him was because Josh wasn't an option.

I finally regained the ability to move and started walking home. I picked up my phone and decided to call Josh because I couldn't possibly fall asleep after the conversation we had on the way home. "Hey." He answered, regret evident in his voice.

"Hey." I realized that I had absolutely no idea what to say. I kind of just wanted to hear his voice.

I heard his breath sigh through the phone before he opened his mouth. "Okay so here's the deal. I know you want me to treat you like my equal. I can work on that; it will just take time because I've known you for so long. I also know you want to go to the party and I decided that I'm okay with that as long as you stay with me the whole time. I don't want any creepy older guys getting any ideas about you. Deal?"

I smiled, thankful that he had finally come around. "Deal."

"Okay. Text me when you get home, okay?" He sounded concerned for my safety, and I loved that part of him.

"Okay." I hung up and continued walking until I got home, grateful that I could sleep peacefully knowing I worked things out with Josh.

 **A/N: So so so sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've wanted to for so long, I've just been so busy with the new school year and my summer was pretty chaotic this year. I will try my best from now on to have an update every two weeks but at least once a month. Hopefully, it will be more often than that. As always, my biggest motivation is feedback, both positive and negative. So please let me know what you think, give me predictions and opinions! If so, I'll probably update a little faster. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Girl Meets College Parties

**Chapter 8- Girl Meets College Parties**

Awaiting the night I would attend my first college party provoked the most anxiety I had felt so far in my relationship with Josh. I knew I would have a good time, but part of me worried he was right and either the people there wouldn't like me or they'd try to take advantage of me. The things that could go right compared to the things that could go wrong were drastically outnumbered. Despite that, I wanted to give it a shot. I wanted to prove him wrong and I wanted to have a good time.

I spent the day texting with Smackle. Our daily conversations had become my new normal ever since my fight with Riley. I opened up to her relatively quickly, desperate to fill the hole left by Riley. I knew I needed to reach out to Riley, but Lucas made me feel like I couldn't until I knew she wanted me to.

Speaking of Lucas, I also told Smackle about everything that happened with him. Smackle immediately jumped to the conclusion that Lucas has feelings for me, but I couldn't bring myself to believe her. He had Riley now. He didn't need me. At the most, I provided friendship so that he had someone beyond only Riley to confide in. I didn't want anything beyond that. Josh was my first choice. He would always be my first choice. Lucas never meant anything more than someone whose personality I loved to make fun of. I just hoped he felt the same way because I didn't need anything more to ruin my friendship with Riley or my relationship with Josh.

By 10:00, Josh and I both had drinks and were sitting on a couch at the party. His arm rested around my shoulders as he sipped on a beer. I hesitated to start drinking what he picked out for me, having never had a sip of an alcoholic beverage in my life. "You don't have to drink any, Maya. I've said that a hundred times."

"I know. I want to, I just haven't before." I looked at the drink that I held in my hand and then decided that before Josh said another word, I would take my first sip. It didn't taste bad at all, which shocked me because Cory used to always say he hated the taste of alcohol. This encouraged me to keep drinking until Josh had to pull the cup away from my mouth.

"Whoa, slow down." He took the cup away and set it down on the table in front of us. "I want you to remember your first party."

I rolled my eyes, filled with unwarranted confidence that I could handle my alcohol. "If you say so." I leaned back on the couch and closer to him. "Do you remember your first party?"

He nodded and let out a laugh. "Yeah, it was interesting. Freshman year, my best friend from high school came up with the brilliant idea to go to a senior party that his sister's boyfriend hosted. All the older kids kept giving us drinks, thinking that getting the freshmen drunk was the funniest thing in the world. I woke up the next morning vomiting in my friend's toilet almost naked."

I burst out laughing as he described the incident. "Classic."

He blushed, clearly still a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, I like to think I've learned a few things since then, but honestly I don't think you ever do." He shook his head through the laughter and took another sip of his drink. This prompted me to do the same.

We both continued laughing until my phone buzzed with a text from none other than Lucas.

 _Did you end up going to that party? You seemed upset about it last week. -Lucas_

I rolled my eyes and tossed my phone to the side before taking another sip of my drink. "What's wrong?" Josh asked, finishing the last sip of his drink.

"Lucas has been annoying lately. I went to talk to Riley last week after the play and ran into Lucas who said I couldn't talk to her, then I walked home with him and he was acting so weird. I have no idea why he started acting like this out of the blue, but it doesn't seem like he approves of our relationship either." I picked up my drink and took another sip, still irritated about Lucas.

Josh looked at me for a moment before saying anything. "You don't feel anything for him right?"

"Of course not. You know it's always been you." I took his hand and looked up at him, seeing the kind of love in his eyes I had never seen from Lucas or anyone else for that matter. Every time I looked at him, I felt more reassured that we made the right decision.

He smiled at me, holding my hand and pulling it up to his lips to kiss. "Good. It's you and me against the world, Maya."

I thought the butterflies in my stomach would never go away. Every time I sat next to him or looked at him I felt instantly happy. Not in an exciting middle school crush kind of way, but in a genuine, loving way. "You and me against the world. I like that."

I got home around two in the morning and had to sneak through my bedroom window so that Shawn and my mom didn't hear me. This night ended a lot better than our last date, especially given our long goodbye kiss before I snuck in through the window. It felt even better than our first kiss after the progress we made in defining our relationship and overcoming the age issue.

Unfortunately, my happy bubble burst when I woke up and walked into the kitchen to find my mom and Shawn ready to lecture me once again. "Maya, what time did you get home last night?" My mom asked, looking for a way to give me the benefit of the doubt.

"I don't know, late." I poured myself a bowl of cereal and waited for her response.

"Shawn heard you sneaking in past two. Maya, we're worried about your safety when you stay out that late. We live in New York City, you know." My mom sat down at the kitchen table and waited for me to sit next to her. I hesitated to sit down, knowing the lecture that would come if I did. Still, I took a seat and started to nonchalantly eat my cereal, as if nothing happened at all. "I love you and your life is your business, you know that. But I want to make sure this doesn't continue to interfere with your other relationships. I know you, Maya. You need Riley. And the Matthews are a second family, you need them, too. I think we should go over there for dinner this week. Cory and Topanga already agreed."

I listened, trying my best to hear her with an open mind. At first, the idea sounded insane. A group of feuding teenagers and adults all at one dinner party? "Josh can come, right?"

"That's the point, Maya. We want to clear the air with both of you there. We want everyone on the same page." Shawn sat down at the kitchen table on the other side of me, showing agreement with my mother.

I looked between the two of them and then shrugged. "I guess I agree."

My phone lit up a second later with a text from Josh and, of course, my face lit up as well. Seeing his name on my phone still gave me butterflies.

 _Dinner at the Matthews? Sounds like a recipe for disaster but I'm down if you are. -Josh_

I texted back to update him on the conversation with my mom and Shawn. We both knew this night could go one of two ways; either it went great and everything could go back to normal or it went horribly and no one would speak to each other until Thanksgiving. Either way, something needed to happen and this dinner seemed like the perfect solution.

 **A/N: Alright, here's the deal. It's pretty clear a lot of people were unhappy with how the last chapter was written and I'm sorry the message didn't come off the way I intended for it to. Since I published it, I've actually written a new version of the chapter that's tweaked slightly from the original. The purpose of the chapter remains the same, but I think the "love triangle" I've been trying to create came off as Maya developing feelings for Lucas when what I really intended to do was show Lucas's jealousy and missing the attention Maya used to give him. I never intended for Maya to have feelings for Lucas. I hope this chapter and the revised version of chapter 7 clear that up and solve any issues you had with this story. That being said, please continue reading and reviewing. I really do appreciate it. As I'm sure you noticed, just hearing from you guys made me update this story a whole lot faster. Thanks for the feedback!**


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